It doesn't matter what "we, the people" want. Traditionally, both ruling parties promise the sun, the moon, the stars ... and yes, even accountability ... and ten minutes after the polls close, all promises become null and void - and what "we, the people" wanted is what "we, the people" get thumbed at us from some ruling party nose. It's been that way since Confederation and as long as we keep playing Liberal/Conservative ping-pong, nothing is going to change. It's like disciplining kids (and we all know how you feel about that) As long as they know they can get away with disrespecting "we, the people" because they know "we, the people" are lax and forget their abuses of power by the time the next guy's abused his power enough to make "we, the people" madder at this guy, they'll keep doing it and laughing at us. A good spanking and four or eight years out of the spotlight might do both arrogant buggers good.
Here's what gets me. I agree with you completely here, but I'd like to see the NDP as number two
and not number one. That leaves the Bloc and they sure as hell aren't the answer for Canada, and
the Green Party isn't the answer yet though their day will come. With one Right of center party like
a thumb and all the other fingers on the left...our choices are so limited. The NDP as the Opposition
works well in Saskatchewan provincially with the Sask.Party (=Cons) leading and might work the
same federally.
As I watch the Americans vote on their bail out vote, those voting seem to vote for themselves and
for what they themselves can set up as a golden parachutes once their terms are done....yet they vote
somewhat independently of party lines. The Democrats, if they wanted to could have passed that
vote the first time around if it was in their interests even if every Republican voted against it and yet
they claimed to be so outraged at the Republicans voting the bail out down the first time. That was
very well staged to point fingers at the Republicans even though the Republican vote could have been
irrelevant if it was in the Democrats interest just the way the numbers sit.
If this same vote (just for the sake of making a point) had to be made in Canada, Everything would
be voted right along Party lines without even the appearance of independence. Everyone with the
Conservatives would vote exactly as Harper tells them to, and everyone with the Liberals would
vote exactly as (if Dion lasts 'till the snow melts) Dion tells them to, and so on and so forth. With
that in mind, it seems to make your own MP irrelevant as he/she can only vote as their told to by
whomever is at the top of whatever stinkhole party they happen to be in.
With that in mind, why is our system set up with all of these individual ridings with candidates in each
one if they can only do whatever they're told to by the Leader of their party? It's become a farce
without the independence to vote for not only the best interests of Canada, but their own riding.
We really, the way things have evolved, don't need the overhead of MPs at all. "Here Harper, your
vote is worth 37% of the total and May's is worth 9% and Gilles is worth 10% and" so on and so
forth. Parliament could be held in a garage somewhere as long as they had a card table and some
folding chairs. If your MP can't do anything for yourself or your riding, how can they justify their
existence as long as the forced vote along party lines exists. We, the public, should all be wearing
bags over our heads as we leave the polling stations, and not before.
